Executive dysfunction and loss of capacity to consent to medical treatment in patients with Alzheimer's disease.

摘要: Loss of medical decision making capacity (competency) is an inevitable consequence Alzheimer's disease (AD) and important subject for neuropsychological investigation. Consent involves a complex set comprehension, encoding, information processing, making, communication abilities, which ultimately must have explicit neurological basis. This article examines the role executive dysfunction in loss consent patients with AD. The authors first describe cognitive model understanding also reviews studies that used psychometric instrument to test under different legal standards (Capacity Treatment Instrument). These indicate when multiple functions are associated declining competency AD on Capacity Instrument standards, measures simple function predominant predictors. empirical findings discussed related conceptual model. support growing body literature linking frontal neural systems higher order functional capacities.